Project Track-'em: Lightning

The peregrine falcon "Lightning", after having migrated to the Dominican Republic from Canada, had visited La Vega, Hato Mayor, San Francisco de Macorís, Navarrete, and Santiago, drawing the attention of citizens in those cities, and before this was in Cuba.

EDITORIAL

Since "in" and "out" stopped being terms used to differentiate new or out of date things, it is "light" which has come to be the superlative of all good qualities.  Now all is "light".  In diets, light marks the seal of a product with few calories that will help people lose weight.  Even in the world of art, we have the phenomenon of "light" characterizing hybrids between different styles.  And in popular art, as in folklore, a dance or type of music can be light according to its rhythm.

We don't yet know if politicians can be "light", as they are neither one nor the other.  Politics is so rigid that except with rare exceptions nothing anti-political is permitted.  The "light" therefore would be one of these exceptions.

All of this is nothing more than an excuse to speak about the already famous one, the falcon "Lightning" that has created a tremendous reaction since its unexpected appearance in San Francisco de Macorís.  The animal has caught the attention and appreciation of the public, but also caused indignation for eating other birds without consideration for the way people feel about them.  

In Santiago, a crowd attacked and brought a Red-tailed Hawk (guaraguao) to the ground, confusing it with the falcon.  The guaraguao, which is neither a falcon nor an eagle, was too intelligent; too "light" to be at the centre of such a situation, and flew right to the headquarters of the police where it was rescued.

While it was in San Francisco de Macorís, during one of its most prolonged stopovers since it left Canada, the falcon Lightning did not provoke reactions of such a nature. In Santiago, it would seem that things are different.  Be it falcon or guaraguao, in this "Valley of Death" ultimately only the eagles reign.